Building slab



Dec. 30, 1930. J] H. POWERS 1,787,166

BUILDING SLAB Filed Nov. 26, 1928 [I g l John H: Fowenr, 46 34 atto'nmm Patented Dec. 30, 1930 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE COURT BUILDING SLAB Application filed November 2a, 1928. Serial No. 322,029.

My invention relates to building slabs designed to cover old weather boarding, bricks,

I sheathing, etc., of a building so that on completion the outer face of the building will appear as though constructed of marble,

.stone, tile, etc.

Another object is to provide an economical and durable slab made of plastic material which can be molded in any suitable design and ailixed as a Veneer to a building.

A further object is to provide water-proof slabs with tight joints so that when applied to a building moisture cannot seep through at the rear of a finished slab.

, tion on line 4-4 of Fig. is an enlarged broken horizontal secthe slabs or pass through the joints between said slabs.

Another object is to provide a slab with an embedded reinforcement which not only strengthens said slab but affords means whereby it may be secured to a building with screws, nails or other suitable fastening devices.

In order that the invention may be fully understood reference will now be had to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a front elevation of a po rtion of a building partly covered with the slabs.

Fig. 2 is a detail perspective View looking at the rear of a reinforcing member which is embedded in the plastic material from which the slab is formed.

Fig. 3 is a detail perspective view looking Fig. 4 is an enlar ed broken vertical sec- Fig. 1.

tion on line 55 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 6 is a detail perspective view of one of a number of slabs for application to the.

corners of a building.

Referring in detail to the different parts,

A represents the outer surface of the building to which wooden or other suitable strips 2 are nailed or otherwise secured. r

4 designates the slab as a whole which is reinforced with a member 6 embedded in the plastic material forming the main portion of said slab. The reinforcing member 6 consists .of a hollow rectangular frame 8 and woven wire 10, which latter is suitably secured to said frame and covers the large opening therein as shown by Fig. 2.

The frame 8 consists preferably of galvanized sheet metal and the outer portions of its vertical sides are folded to provide vertical grooves 14 and flanges 15, which latter form the rear sides of the former and reinforce said frame 8.

The outer portion of the horizontal upper part of the frame 8 is folded to provide a horizontal groove 18 and a longitudinal tongue20, while the lower horizontal portion of said frame 8 is folded to provide longitudinal grooves and tongues 26 and 28, respectively.

In the manufacture of the slab the plastic material is forced through the openings in the woven wire and also through perforations 80 formed in the frame 8 and is struck off flush, or substantially flush, with the rear surfaces of the flanges l5 and the tongues and 28. Sufficient plastic material is employed to give the. desired thickness to the. slab, the mar ins of which have longitudinal grooves 34 or a purpose hereinafter described. The upper and lower margins 36 and 38, respectively, of the plastic material are sloped downwardly towards the front surface of the slab for the purpose of shedding any rain which may enter the joints between said slabs when the latter are secured to the building. The plastic material may have suitable waterproof material intermixed therewith or the rear surface only may be coated with a waterproof material for preventing moisture from penetrating through to the strips 2 and the building. The faces of the slabs, during the course of manufacture, may be rendered highly attractive by embedding therein broken or crushedglass, shells, stone, etc., or said faces may be treated with a single color or a plurality of colors so that the finished structure may have a very ornate" appearance.

JOHN H. POWERS, OF KANSAS CITY, KANSAS; MARY A. POWERS OWNER BY DEGREE OF loo of the building and so spaced that a" full sized slab will reach across one strip and half way across two others disposed at opposite sides of the first-mentioned strip. The slabs are then laid in super-imposed tiers and secured to the strips '2 with suitable means such as screws, nails, or other fastening devices 45, which pass through holes 46 in the upper portions of the tongues 20. As one tier of slabs is laid upon another the tongues 28, which register with the spaces betweenthe strips 2, are slipped over and behind the tongues 20 which latter enter the grooves 26 and coact with said tongues 28 in firmly locking the abutting upper and lower ends of the slabs together. Before placing each slab in place the marginal grooves 34 are filled with a waterproof putty or other suitable substance 48, and before one tier of slabs is placed upon another the vertical joints between the slabs are further rendered water-tight b slipping weather strips 50 down througi the ends of the grooves 18 and into the rooves 14 at the abutting sides of the sla s. The weather strips 50 also assist in holding the slabs in proper relation to each other,

From the foregoing description it is apparent that I have provided slabs embodying the advantages above pointed out, and while I have shown and described one form of the invention I reserve all rights" to such other forms and modifications thereof as properly fall within the spirit and scope of the invention as claimed.

Having thus described my invention, What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. In combination with a pluralit of strips spaced equal distances apart an arranged perpendicularly upon the wall of a building, a plurality of slabs secured to said strips and each consisting of a plastic body, a reinforcing member embedded in each body, a tongue extending longitudinally of the upper portion of each reinforcing member, and a tongue and groove at the lower ortion of each reinforcing member, the ast-nientioned tongue fitting between two of the strips while said groove receives the tongue at the upper portion of an underlying reinforcing member.

2. In combinatlon w1th a pluralit of strips spaced equal distances apart an arrangedperpendicularly upon the wall of a building, a plurality of slabs secured to said strips and each consisting of a plastic body having a continuous groove extending around its mar ins and each slab being wide enough to ridge two spaces between the strips, a reinforcing member embedded in each body, a tongue extending longitudinally of the upper portion of 'each reinforcing member, and a plurality of tongues at the lower portion of each reinforcing tioned tongues beinig member which are spaced apart to enter the spaces bridged by the slab, the last-menshaped to form grooves for the reception 0 the tongue at the upper ortion of the underlying reinforcing mem- In testimony whereof I aflix my signature.

JOHN H. POWERS. 

